Had the eagle eye of Frederick at once seen how Cyprus could best be defended by a limited body of troops, he could not have been better prepared for the events which subsequently happened. A war soon broke out which, during several years, continued to rage throughout the island, the history of which gives a most variegated picture of the doings of the knights beyond the sea, _chevalerie d’outre-mer_, as they were called by the Eastern warriors. Homeric combats upon a fair field, trials by battle, the beleaguering and defence of castles, codes laying down the nicest points of honour, or of right, biting satires and new war songs, followed each other, as incessantly as did the victories or the defeats of the combatants. That all the knights displayed wonderful bravery is undeniable. As the head of the imperial forces, we may mention the knightly Marshal Felingher, Balas, called by Navarra in his history, “the Fox,” and Hugo de Giblet, who, on account of his grimaces, was nicknamed “the Ape.” Ibelin seems to have made himself more conspicuous than the rest. His brave sons and their friend, the merry poet, Philip of Navarre, as also the wild “fighting cock” Anselm de Brie, afforded materials for innumerable anecdotes. All this time Cyprus suffered severely, owing to the discord which existed between two parties of nobles, whose enmity at length involved Syria and Palestine, where the Templars and Knights of St. John, together with what was left of the priesthood, raged with unmeasured hatred against the emperor, whose witty jests, aimed at the silly practices of the monks, had given great offence, more especially when, after the example of the Templars, they displayed their insatiable avarice. The dissensions among the Cyprian nobles were, indeed, the cause why all the arrangements made by the wisdom and care of Frederick, in treating with the Mussulmans, fell to the ground.